App Stores Are Only Continuing To Grow

February 24th, 2015

According to a recent report over at Developer Economics, 2014 was yet another year in which the major app stores – iTunes, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore – continued to experience phenomenal growth.

So, what does this mean for app developers?

One initial conclusion is that the app market isn’t slowing down anytime soon; the steady rise of downloads indicates a solid trend of more and more users entering the app market every year. Accordingly, this will cause a steady increase in demand for phone applications that meet the needs of a larger and more diverse user base.

Although no one would deny the rampant popularity of the iOS device ecosystem, the full article reveals that the app store with the largest amount of growth was Google Play. Interestingly, the Android-focused app store took first prize in the categories of number of apps, number of new developers, and overall downloads. Although Google Play grew the largest amount (around 180% in 2014), iOS still grew by an impressive 160% over the same time period.

The big takeaway from the report is that apps are still in demand and still interesting to the broader consumer tech marketplace. Although certain categories seem to have more success (business on iOS, games on Android), it’s clear that there are still millions of users looking for app-based solutions to their problems.

Sam Allen

Samuel is something of a marketing Swiss Army knife. He enjoys helping clients build their web presence and visual identity through design, SEO, and good ol' fashioned content. A photographer by trade, he's had work published in the New York Times and the New Jersey Star-Ledger.